Much is said at my club and even more on-line about the accuracy of different air guns. Everytime I read a report it tells you about the variables eg type of pellet, range, wind etc. Nothing is ever said about the skill of the individual doing the firing. Why is this? Does this not factor into the accuracy with which the rifle is fired? Or are the rifles clamped on a table although this is not mentioned in most reports?
LongJon

Once you've found a suitable pellet, with a good mid-priced gun the individual is the limiting factor. Improvements are still achievable by using a better gun & pellet combination, but at some point the wobble factor is the main one. And I think most reviewers are unwilling to admit their limitations.

I spend a lot of time testing different pellets and comparing guns at different ranges. One of the most useful aids is Chairgun. Once I've established the ballistics coefficient for a gun & pellet combination (not the database BC estimate) I like to measure the velocity variation and use the vertical stringing app to calculate theoretical spread at a given range - it's an indication of the best possible performance from the gun & pellet combination - then see how close I can get. It's interesting to see how much difference a change in pellet or a change in hold can make. Also it's a revelation to see and hear the group sizes (usually of 5 or less shots) posted by some users as supposed validation of their gun's performance... groupings which can only be down to luck.

It also depends on range.
At 10m you can hit the target with any pellet and a clean barrel. You just have to hold it on target. £4 a tin or £15 there's little difference unless you are an international shooter.
At 60 yards outdoors however the pellet/barrel choice can make a difference.
Its just a matter of eliminating any barrel/pellet problems that may exist (as per TonyC above) so that you can concentrate on aiming without that nagging doubt it's maybe the pellet.

I think how a gun feels (which is personal and subjective) and confidence in the gun can be significant factors. I have a rifle which often seems to perform better than my others but has a history of unexplained stray shots. Now I don't fully trust it, I'm sure I'm overthinking or tensing up on some shots and the stray shots are like a self-fulfilling prophesy.